


What the heart wants

by Mystique1250



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angry Sweet Pea (Riverdale), Betty Cooper Deserves Better, Dark Betty Cooper, F/M, Hurt Betty Cooper, Hurt Jughead Jones, Jughead Jones & Toni Topaz Friendship, Jughead Jones is Not Asexual, Protective Sweet Pea (Riverdale), Southside Serpent Betty Cooper, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2019-10-27 01:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17757299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystique1250/pseuds/Mystique1250
Summary: After Jughead has separated from Betty she does not know how she should handle it, which is why she asks her brother Chic for help. He shows her a tempting solution and she can't help but get involved. She slips into a role and meets Sweet Pea, who suddenly feels attracted to her. Is Betty getting involved with him? And what happens if Jughead wants to go back to Betty?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> English isn't my first language.

The cold that has descended on the city that night swirls the blonde's hair around and makes her whole body tremble. One might call it a bad idea to go outside with the light clothes she wears, but that doesn't interest her. In those seconds she can't think of anything but the dark-haired boy.

Her heart beats so hard against her chest that it almost hurts, but she keeps her eyes on the exit of the bar so as not to miss it. She holds her hands tightly interlocked and tries to avoid the glances of the people passing her.

If only she could turn back time, prevent her action and thus erase from her head the look of the boy who is still shuddering her now. But it is too late and she becomes more painfully aware of it every second.

An engine howls loudly next to her and her breath falters briefly as she finally discovers the person she is waiting for.

The gaze of the black-haired man is cold, almost expressionless. "Hey", she greets him carefully, unsettled by his gaze. Shortly before her he stops, unusually still. "What's wrong?" she immediately notices that she was right with her guess. "Was it the dance?" With these words her heart makes a sentence. "Simply everything and yes. Why did you do that?", a breath of disappointment resonates in his voice.

"I wanted to be a part of all this," she tries to explain, hoping he would understand: "The Serpents, your world." "How then?" he sounds dumbfounded, as if he could not believe that she wanted to belong to him: "Archie knows that he should stay away. I'm just dragging you down with me. I'm dragging my dad down with me."

"Jug, he'll find a way," she tries to encourage him: "And it'll be all right. Together we can do it." She takes a small step towards him and puts her hands on his chest.

"No, no," he shoves her hands away like they're burning him and distancing themselves from her. He shakes his head resolutely: "Not together." She scrutinizes him with fear of what he might say next.

"Betty, if you stay, I don't know if I can still protect you," he looks her in the eye, "I'm sure you'll get hurt and I can't let that happen." His tone is hard, but she can see how mourning spreads in his eyes.

"This is not your decision. Believe me", the girl starts to fight with tears, but her voice is clear. "Actually, yes," he takes another step away from her: "Yes, it is."

"How many more times, Jughead?" Her question sounds like a reproach as she approaches him again: "How many more times will we push each other away." "As often as it takes," these words bring out the last bit of hope in her eyes: "This was my dad's only chance and I blew it. I don't want to ruin you, too."

"Tell me what happened, Jug," she sounds begging as the first tears form in her eyes. But he just turns around and makes an effort to leave.

In her desperation, she summons her last strength to grab him by the arm and turn around to herself. As if from a reflex, she gently places her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at them.

But the only thing he can say is "Please, go home, Betty" before he frees himself from her grip and takes a quick step away.

This time she doesn't stop him, just stops powerless and allows the tears to roll quietly over her cheeks. She keeps her eyes on him. The boy who meant everything to her, the one who broke her heart into a thousand pieces that night.

 


	2. Chapter 1

Betty lies sighing on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It's already dark outside, but it's just a little after eight o'clock in the evening.

"Elizabeth", her mother's voice suddenly sounds: "Dinner is ready." Slowly the girl rises from the bed and shuffles out of the room. Food is the last thing she can think of. Instead, her thoughts are with Jughead.

She's been that way ever since he broke up with her. It's been two days, but she still feels as bad as she did the first few seconds after he broke up with her. At the thought of that evening it feels as if an invisible weight is pulling her chest down and forcing her to the ground.

Slowly she climbs down the stairs and sits down at the dining table. "And, Betty, Alice Cooper looks at her daughter with interest: "Have you done your homework for today? The blonde just wants to nod quietly - her mother's control mania is slowly taking over - and that's when her chic's gaze catches her eye. A cold shiver runs down her back.

Since her brother moved in with them, she doesn't feel as comfortable in this house as she used to. There's something scary about him and every day she finds it harder to judge him.

"Uh, ... Yes', she replies to her mother and then begins to make herself a loaf of bread. "Do you know what I noticed?" While Alice asks the question, she doesn't turn her eyes away from her children for a second: "Archie hasn't been here for a while."

Betty swallows. She has also noticed that she hardly spends any time with her red-haired neighbour. "He currently spends a lot of time with Veronica", the younger Cooper sister paints with her pines. Although she is friends with Veronica, the fact that Archie neglects his other friends because of her hurts her anyway. "It's a pity", apparently Alice doesn't notice that this topic makes her daughter uneasy: "I always liked him better than Jughead."

Instantly Betty freezes in the middle of the movement. "I know for myself that you don't like him, Mom", her tone is hard, but her eyes become glassy: "But this is my life and not yours". Silently she drops her bread on the plate and rises from her place.

"Elizabeth?", her mother's voice is both questioning and warning, but Betty simply ignores her and climbs the stairs. Her heart beats firmly against her chest and the only thing she can think of is Jughead's gaze as he pushes her away again.

Tighter than she wanted, she slams her room door behind her as she fights tears with all her might. Slowly she slides down the door and supports her head in the hands she has clenched with fists. Her fingernails are buried in her soft skin, and she twitches in pain. Inside, the girl curses her for the fact that Jughead still has such a strong influence on her. Even now, when they are no longer together.

Now the tears begin to run and she begins to wish for nothing more than her heart, and thus also her feelings, to be able to simply switch off and just let her head rule.


	3. Chapter 2

When suddenly a stubborn knock tears up the silence that has laid over Betty, the blonde shrugs in shock. "Who's there?" she asks uncertainly. She's really not in shape to face any further interviews with her mother right now.

"Betty?", Chic's voice is soundless as always. Nevertheless, he manages to intimidate her with this one word. Again a cold shiver runs down her back. So her body always reacts to him. She simply doesn't know much about him and he makes sure with all his strength that it stays that way.

He knocks again, but this time much gentler and less demanding. As if he would actually leave the decision to her. She listens briefly. So she doesn't know the blonde at all. "I know how I can help you," he adds when she does not answer.

Immediately hundreds of ways he could try to help her shoot through her head. However, she doubts that one of them will be able to remedy her pain.

Nevertheless, she rises from the floor and steps aside: "All right, come in." The only explanation for her actions is the thought that maybe there is someone who can alleviate her pain. Even if she doubts it.

Slowly the door handle is pushed down and Chic's blond hair comes out. When she doesn't send him away, he kicks in completely and then locks the door behind him again. Then she runs over to her bed and drops down next to her on the mattress she sat on before. He looks at her as if spellbound, but his blue eyes lack expression. "So? she asks and sounds a little expectant. She may not trust him, but she can still listen to his solution.

"I can help you", he hardly turns his gaze away from her: "You are my sister, Betty, and I know what must be going on in you right now." His penetrating gaze makes her a little nervous, but she continues to listen.

"You feel this darkness inside you don't know how to deal with this side of yourself," his words magically draw the girl under his spell: "When I was younger, I was no different. I was just like you, Betty. He opens his palm so that she can see four crescent-shaped scars. Her heart makes a sentence and she instinctively opens her own hands. In it, the same flaws shine in a painful red. Chic's scars, on the other hand, fade ready, suggesting that they must be older.

"But I have found a way," he closes his hands again. But not out of shame, as Betty often does. "Which one? she literally hangs on his lips. "I decided not to run away from myself and surrender to my darkness when it grabs me", a strange grin appears on his lips: "And when she leaves me again, my pain has disappeared too".

Betty swallows, is uncertain, but the thought of finally being free of the pain that plagues her soul is too seductive. "Can you show me how that works?", her heart begins to beat firmly against her chest, like a bird trying to escape from its cage.

"Of course I can," he reaches for one of her hands: "And so will I." When he touches her, she is suddenly seized by a biting cold. "But first, you have to do me a favor," his fingers interlock tightly with hers. "And which one?" she asks uncertainly. "Forget Jughead", his tone is cold and demanding. She stops breathing for a moment. To do that, she must let her heart be governed by her head, because her heart cannot give it up.


	4. Chapter 3

Uncertainly, the blonde looks at herself in the mirror. She can't say exactly what it is, but something is missing. She wears a black top, pants and high heeled boots in the same colour.

"You don't look so excited yet," Chic, sitting on the bed behind her, notes. Undecidedly she shrugs her shoulders: "Something is missing." She looks at her lips, which she has painted with bright red lipstick. It once belonged to Polly, which makes her feel a certain connection to her sister. The colour also gives Betty a sense of power. If her mother saw her like this, she would make her daughter's hell hot. But she's not worried about that right now.

"And I know exactly what", the boy gets up and stops next to her. Behind his back he pulls out a black leather jacket: "Try these on."

At his request, she grabs the garment and slips inside. The jacket fits like a glove, as if it had been made especially for Betty. She turns so that she can read what is written on the back of the garment. A snake symbol paired with the stroke 'Southside Serpents' is depicted on it. Briefly the name gives her an engraving, but try to push the emerging feeling away from her.

She opens her high ponytail so that her hair falls over her shoulders in gentle curls. Her right corner of her mouth moves upwards. She likes it better this way: "It's much better this way."

"I can only agree," he puts his hands on her shoulders: "You're ready, sis." "What should I do now?" she asks a little uncertainly. "Whatever you want", Betty can see his big grin in the mirror: "the night is yours."

Thinking about what she could do, she can't help but grin. "You're right", she turns to him: "Please make sure Mom doesn't notice I'm gone." "Of course", he gives her an honest look. She nods one last time and walks towards her room door. Slowly she opens it, but before she can make an effort to leave the room, he stops her: "Betty." "Yes," she asks in surprise. Why is he stopping her? "Enjoy", she expected that he might stop her after all, but to her astonishment he makes no effort at all. She nods and then scurries out into the hall.

Before she approaches the stairs, she listens briefly. Her mother must not catch her now, otherwise the evening will be over. She waits a few seconds, but when she hears nothing conspicuous, she slowly sneaks down the stairs. Chic still doesn't trust her completely and can only hope that he won't betray her.

Arriving at the front door, she takes her front door key from the key board and opens the door as slowly as possible. Fortunately, there is no loud creaking and she scurries outside unnoticed. What Alice doesn't know doesn't make her hot either.

As fast as she can, Betty leaves the front yard, but then slows down a bit as she moves away from the house. She briefly thinks about where to go now, but there is only one place she can think of. A place whose darkness has always magically attracted her.


	5. Chapter 4

Jughead listens to the sound of the fridge door closing, waiting for Toni to return to him. The brunette fortunately returns too soon, preventing Jughead from getting up and looking for her. "There was only lemon left," she throws him a can and then returns to him. She drops onto the sofa next to him and opens her own soda. Then she reaches for one of the papers lying on the table and takes a long sip of her drink: "Okay, Jughead. Are you ready for the next question?"

The leaf hides her face from the black haired one, but he can still imagine her expectant gaze vividly. He rolls his eyes in a tangle. Although he is grateful that she helps him learn, sometimes she can be relentless when it comes to getting the right answers from him. "I see that, Jug," it comes immediately from Toni. "I'm sorry, Toni. Thank you for doing that at all," he says quickly so as not to offend her.

She lets the paper sink and looks at him seriously: "Why didn't you ask Archie if he would do this to you? After all, he writes the exam with you." Jughead swallows. It was clear to him that she would ask this question at some point, but he didn't think about an answer in advance. He also prefers to answer the girl honestly. After all, they are friends and she also tells him about her life and her problems. So why shouldn't he do the same? Even if he isn't actually someone who likes to talk about feelings.

"I asked him, but he spends most of his time with Veronica," Jug explains with a disgruntled facial expression. He doesn't want to let it show, but the behavior of his best friend hurts him.

"Oh, I didn't know that," she guiltily lowers her gaze. "It's okay," Jughead tries to shrug his shoulders as if he doesn't care that she asked, "I still have you." "And B...," she starts, but then interrupts herself when she realizes that he lost her too.

Instantly he freezes. His eyes reflect unmistakably the sadness that the thought of the blonde brings with it. He can't deny that he misses her and would love to go to her immediately and try to undo everything. But he knows that she will never forgive him. Not after he pushed her away so numb and then left.

Actually, he only meant well, wanted to protect her and still wants to, but separating from her was a mistake. Because in the past few days he has repeatedly stated that he needs her. He needs not only her good-naturedness, but all her facets. In the past they were always good as a unit and both produced the best sides of each other.

"Jughead", Toni sounds questioning. He raises his head and it becomes clear to him that he must have digressed with his thoughts again. He smiles gratefully at the girl, as she must be pretty annoyed about it, but hasn't said anything about it yet.

To keep it that way, he quickly tries to distract from the subject: "All right, what's the next question? With his finger he points to the sheet of paper in her hand.

She lets her gaze wander briefly over his face as if she were scanning it, but then simply takes another sip of her drink and turns back to the sheet. Relieved, the boy breathes deeply. Fortunately, Toni is someone who can judge when no questions are appropriate.


	6. Chapter 5

Her heart beats firmly against her chest as the bar comes into sight in the distance, but she holds her gaze firmly to it. She was only here once before. Jughead accompanied her back then, but at that moment she is completely on her own and at the mercy of the serpents. After all, she doesn't belong to the gang and probably never will - even though the prospect of a place in the group appeals to her. However, this knowledge does not deter her. She is much more drawn to the Serpent Bar as if by magic.

The closer she gets, the more her heartbeat normalizes. When she arrives at the full parking lot, she lets her gaze wander over the motorcycles and cars. Hoping to discover no known vehicle among them. A little relieved as this is not the case, she continues and enters the building without any doubt. Her brother was right. So she feels well and doesn't think of the boy who broke her heart any longer than necessary. She is like a new person, shows a completely different part of herself.

Without hesitation, she walks towards the bar, does not look to the left and not to the right. "A Tequila Sunrise, please," she pushes a ten dollar bill over the counter. "Are you old enough already?" he looks at her questioningly. "Who cares as long as I pay enough," she waggles the bill in front of his nose. The man looks at the blonde girl a little sceptically for a moment, but then turns around to fulfill her wish.

But before she receives her drink, a hand lies on her back. She turns around in amazement and sees a boy who looks strangely familiar to her. He has black hair, a round face and is about a head taller than herself. Under his serpent jacket he wears a black-blue lumberjack shirt and on his lips a broad grin is visible.

For a few seconds she looks at him and then realizes who is standing in front of her. Sweet Pea! What is he doing here? Since she's not sure whether he recognized her, she tries not to let it show: "Hello?" "Hello", he gives her a charming smile: "What brings a beautiful woman like you to a bar like this? She can't suppress a shallow grin: "Everyone needs a distraction from boring everyday life." "And what kind of distraction are you looking for exactly?" he drills after with a dirty grin and comes a little closer.

Normally she would have pushed him away immediately and told him that she had no interest. But that evening she deliberately acts differently. No longer like Betty Cooper, the perfect girl next door, but out of a completely untypical instinct.

Grinning, she reaches for her finished drink, pushes the bill to the bartender and then turns to Sweet Pea again: "I'm sure you can think of something good." "That's what I think, too," he gently pushes her legs a little apart to stand in between. He gets so close to her that she can already feel his breath on her skin.


	7. Chapter 6

"Betty!" a loud voice sounds behind the blonde and a hand sits firmly on her shoulder. Immediately she can assign the voice and freezes in the middle of the movement. What is he doing here?

Sweet Pea looks at her questioningly and drives one hand through her silky hair. She gives him an apologetic look and makes efforts to climb down from his lap. But he holds her tight, tries to keep her with him. "Please let me go," she whispers to him, but doesn't sound as if she wants to discuss. The young man sighs, but then lets her go.

Quickly she slides onto the leather sofa next to him and looks straight into FP Jones's face. Although she feels quite caught, she doesn't let anything show on the outside. Instead, she seems rather indifferent: "FP, nice to see you. What brings you here?" "I could ask you the same question," the adult has raised his eyebrows and his facial expression shows a mixture of disappointment and a touch of anger.

"I spend the evening out", she crosses her arms in front of her chest: "You can see it." It hurts her to meet the man like that, but he doesn't have to interfere in her life. After all, she's no longer with Jughead, which probably solved the only connection between FP and Betty.

"He crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks at Sweet Pea angrily. It suddenly becomes clear under the gaze of his Serpent King. Betty twists his eyes. The boy really has work to do on his assertiveness.

"Should she?" she immediately asks the counter question without dodging his gaze for a second. "Yes, Betty, she should," his gaze wanders across the table, which already has some empty glasses on it: "How much have you been drinking?

The blonde shrugs her shoulders: "No idea. A few glasses." "Sweet Pea, how much?" he goes after the boy. He lowers his gaze and shrugs his shoulders: "Between two and five." "You can't be serious," the anger is clear to the adult: "Come on, I'll take you home."

"No", her voice is firm and self-confident: "I can take care of myself". "Obviously not," he looks first at Sweet Pea and then at the emptied glasses.

"I'll take care of her, FP," Sweet Pea puts an arm around her waist and puts two fingers under her chin to turn her head in his direction and get her to look at him.

"Forget it, Sweet Pea," he reaches for Betty's hand and pulls the girl away from the boy: "Better sober up first." Then he turns to Betty: "If you allow me to take you back home, I promise I won't tell your mother anything about your little trip".

She presses the jaws firmly together, but nods softly: "All right." Without another word, the Jones father pulls the girl into the parking lot with him. But before they're out the door, Sweet Pea gives Betty a last wink. She can't help but grin broadly.

FP opens the door of his car and lets her in. She follows the silent order and drops onto the passenger seat: "Fasten your seat belt, please". She does what he says and then leans her head against the headrest, waiting for FP.

As he starts the engine of his rust bucket, she asks: "You're not telling that to Jughead, are you?" For a few seconds there is silence in the car. He turns his head in her direction and then briefly examines her: "No, of course not."


	8. Chapter 7

FP directs his car to the parking lot next to the trailer in which he lives and switches off the engine. He pulls the key out of the ignition lock and checks if all doors are closed. After all, the chances of it being stolen here are greater than anywhere else in Riverdale. He trusts his serpents, but on the southside there are a lot of people he doesn't control and even the black-haired man has to watch out.

Slowly he strolls towards his own trailer, which goes down between the others, and unlocks the thin door. It wouldn't be really hard to break them open, but he just feels better when he locks the door.

"Jughead? Are you at home," he asks, hoping to meet the boy. If that were not the case, there would certainly be trouble. In the past he hadn't taken rules very seriously, but in the meantime he has changed a lot and it has become important for him to take his son to safety at night.

"Yes, Dad. I'm here," the voice of his son sounds to his right and he takes a few steps into the trailer to catch a glimpse of the boy. He sits on the sofa with a tightly inscribed sheet of paper in his hands and seems to be learning. This sight proudly evokes in the man. His son is so much better than himself at this age. The only big mistake Jughead makes again and again is that he pushes the people he cares about away from him, believing that they are so safe.

This thought brings Betty to his mind. He realizes that Jughead was only trying to protect the girl, but for her this decision had exactly the opposite effect. Without him, she throws herself into even more danger and gives herself away with Sweet Pea and the other serpents. That night he experienced her so differently, as if she were everyone else. If he is honest, she even reminded him a little of Alice when she was still with the Serpents.

And that's why he's worried about the girl. She is different from her mother, so unspoilt and hearty. She doesn't want her to be spoiled by the things that are waiting for her on the Southside, as he became after he gave up his life as a high school football player to join the Serpents like his dad wanted him to. After that he crashed completely. That's not supposed to happen to Betty.

"Say", slowly he approaches his son: "Have you heard anything from Betty lately?" He had promised Betty on the way back to her house that he wouldn't tell Jughead anything, but he'd like to know if Jughead found out anything different about what Betty did today. After all, it usually gets around pretty fast. This time, however, he hopes that this is not the case.

For a moment the teenager looks up and it almost seems as if pain is reflected in his eyes. When he blinks, however, the expression disappears again and he turns back to his leaf: "No, why should I?". His tone is cool and unemotional, but the man knows that the boy cares. He could never forget the girl so quickly.

"Just so," he tries to shrug his shoulders as indifferently as possible: "Is she no longer important to you? He lets his gaze wander over the lines of his paper: "We are no longer together. Why should she? "But before that you were friends," the father tries to tell his son his conscience. After all, Jughead is the only one who can still make the young blonde see reason. Jughead swallows, but doesn't raise his eyes. Nevertheless, FP can see that his words have made a difference. But he can't say what it is at this point. 


	9. Chapter 8

The next morning, Betty wakes up about six in the morning. She directly feels the effects of yesterday's excursion in the form of a light hangover. Just raised, she lets herself sink back into the pillows. She almost plays with the idea of calling in sick and simply staying at home. However, this would destroy her good report card, which is why she prefers to decide against it.

Although she has a slight headache, her little trip was definitely worth it. As Chic had said before, it was great not to fight the darkness and welcome her with open arms instead. Moreover, the encounter with Sweet Pea was unexpected, but in no way unpleasant. And she has to admit that he's not a bad kisser.

She gets out of bed and walks over to her wardrobe. Usually she is pretty sure what to wear, but today she somehow struggles with herself. She opens the cupboard doors on a trial basis and immediately sees the outfit she was wearing last night. Would it be a good idea to go to school like this?

At once, her reason comes forward and answers this question with a clear 'no'. These little excursions should rather remain her little secret, a kind of valve when the pressure ml becomes too strong again.

In the end she prefers a comfortable, light blue long-sleeved shirt and blue high waist pants. Then she drops onto the stool in front of her dressing table and quickly ties her blonde hair to her typical ponytail. Then she takes a look in the mirror. She looks as if nothing had happened, as if she had spent the last night learning alone in her room. But does she really want to give that impression? Does she only want to be the perfect girl next door forever? Or is she striving for more?

"Elizabeth," at this moment her mother's voice sounds from below and tears her out of her thoughts: "Archie is here. Are you done?" Quickly she reaches for her rucksack and leaves her room hastily, hoping she wouldn't notice the slight hangover. Her mother can be quite suspicious and almost always notices when something is wrong with her daughter.

Arriving in the hallway she slips into her sneakers relatively slowly and then throws on her jacket. "See you later, Mom", she just wants to say goodbye, when Alice grabs her gently but surely by the forearm and prevents her from walking.

Asking and a little afraid of what's next, she looks at her mother. Has FP broken his promise and told her mother about it? No, he would never do that. You can think what he wants of him, but Betty has learned over time that FP is a man who keeps his promises.

"What is it, Mom?" she asks, hoping that the adults would finally come out with language. It lowers the gaze, which is completely atypical for her: "Have you heard anything from Polly?

Betty swallows when the question comes to her ears. Although her mother had hid it well so far, the youngest Cooper daughter had always known that her mother was worried about Polly and reproached her for letting the pregnant teenager go to the "farm.

Elizabeth doesn't know what to say. Either she lies to her mother, but gives her a sense of security, or she tells the truth and lets the mother continue to blame herself. "No, but I can call her when I get back from school," she answers the question more confidently than she feels, so as not to allow any objections.

Her mother's grip comes loose and Betty is already at the door, then she goes back again and hugs Alice briefly: "Don't worry. I'm sure she's fine there." She doesn't answer, she just hugs her daughter before she leaves the house in a hurry to make her way to Riverdale High School with her long-time neighbor and best friend. 


	10. Chapter 9

With Archie in tow, Betty walks through the corridors of Riverdale High School. On their way to school they got involved in a lively conversation about the Black Hood, which they interrupt now. After all, you never know who is listening and who is on which side.

"What do you have now?" she asks him and gets an answer right away. "Sport", his voice sounds. "English", she says, which is not so bad at all. In that subject she is actually quite good.

"Will we see each other during lunch break?" Archie hacks after and Betty shrugs her shoulders: "Let's have a look. But probably she does. "Okay, see you later", he disappears around a corner, in the direction of the sports hall. She, on the other hand, stops in front of the lockers and releases the combination lock.

But before she can open the door, a hand lies on her shoulder. She is easily frightened and then drives around. There she is shocked to see a familiar face. "Sweet Pea," she asks a little nervously and tries to free herself from his grip. Although she realizes that they are going to school and can therefore easily avoid each other, she didn't expect him to address her directly.

"You didn't contact me at all last night", his tone is a little reproachful as he puts an arm around her shoulder. She doesn't mind this, opens her locker and takes out a few books: "Should I have done that? "I would have loved it," he plays with her pigtail with a grin.

"I'll remember it for next time," she opens her backpack and puts the books in it before slamming the cupboard door again and leaning against the door.

"Are you the perfect girl next door again today," he alludes to the clothes she's wearing. "Maybe", she gives him a smug grin and takes a look at his lips. This behavior is completely untypical for the girl, but she likes it: "Do you have a problem with it?

"No, not in the least", he grins and looks at her: "I like this little game." "Play," she asks doubtingly. "By day the good girl and by night on the way to the tough badgirl," he explains to her. "That's not a bad formulation at all," she tilts her head and looks at the boy's facial features.

He is about to lean forward, she notices a black-haired boy out of the corner of her eye. He wears a leather jacket and doesn't look very happy. "Shit, Jughead", the blonde curses quietly and quickly evades Sweet Pea. "What did you just say?" he asks persistently. But Betty doesn't answer.

"I have to go to class now', she bites her lip hard. "What? You can't just go now,' he contradicts and follows her, but she doesn't turn around, doesn't answer. "Are we still seeing each other today," he continues to drill, but she continues to ignore him: "Betty!

But at this moment his thoughts are nowhere else than with Jughead. How long has he been watching? And what if he heard what Sweet Pea said to her?


	11. Chapter 10

**Jughead**

That didn't really just happen, did it? No, that can't be at all. He must be dreaming! Anyway, he wants to believe that with all his strength. But he saw Sweet Pea and Betty, saw him bend forward and it almost seemed as if he wanted to kiss them in the next few seconds. And then she ran away when she saw Jughead.

He can't say exactly why, but it hurts him somehow to see her. He doesn't like the fact that there is another boy with her. And why Sweet Pea of all people?

Without thinking long and hard about it, Sweet Pea gets going and walks down the hallway to Sweet Pea. Betty has already completely disappeared from his field of vision and the serpent has leaned against the locker with a sigh. "What are you doing here, Sweet Pea?" he asks without thinking about it and crosses his arms in front of his chest. Sweet Pea's eyebrows rise as he discovers Jughead and he looks at him questioningly: "I'm going to school here."

Jughead rolls his eyes. That's not the answer he wants: "That's already clear to me. But your locker is in a completely different part of the school. So what exactly are you doing here? In front of Betty's locker?" It's obvious to his counterpart that he has to suppress a laugh: "I can go wherever I want, Jones, and I don't have to justify myself to you."

The Jones boy rolls his eyes, but doesn't know what to say. Unfortunately Sweet Pea is right. He can't force him to explain the situation. "You're right. You don't have to justify yourself to me," he looks at Sweet Pea seriously: "But I warn you. Touch Betty again and there will be real trouble." "Oh yes," he asks with a very provocative tone in his voice: "What do you want to do? Throw me out of the serpents?"

"Maybe, real serpents don't just go after each other's girlfriends," growls Jughead. Inside, it's boiling wild and he curses himself for not having exchanged a word with Betty since he broke up with her. Finally, he just left her standing and has been avoiding her ever since. So this is partly his fault, too. However, Betty doesn't look like this behavior either. If he is honest, he expected that she would wait for him in some way and wouldn't flirt directly with his serpent colleague. But maybe he sees the situation completely wrong and it is not what it looks like. Anyway, he hopes so.

"You may not have noticed it yet, but Betty isn't your girlfriend anymore," the big boy replies with a grin and looks at Jughead played innocently: "And she's free to do whatever she wants and with whom she wants it. "And this person is you?", now Jughead can no longer hold on to himself. His counterpart just makes him angry. "As it seems, yes," Sweet Pea just replies and then pushes himself away from the locker, puts on his backpack and pushes himself past the Serpent King's son: "But now I also have to be in my class, Jones. If you have any questions, just talk to Betty." Jughead opens his mouth to answer something, but then slowly closes it again, as he has nothing more to say. "Or are you afraid to hear the truth from her mouth?" With these words Sweet Pea starts to move with a grin and makes his way to his classroom.

So he leaves Jughead alone with his thoughts. He supports himself on the lockers and would like to sink into the ground at this moment. In front of Sweet Pea he has really embarrassed himself and he can only hope that he doesn't tell Betty about it. And then there's the question he asked him before he disappeared. In fact, Sweet Pea is not quite wrong. To hear from Betty that she is no longer interested in him and has now started something with Sweet Pea would break his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave comments and kudos!


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